Information sharing support system, information processing device, computer readable recording medium, and computer controlling method

ABSTRACT

An information sharing support system includes: a first information processing device connected to a projector device for projecting an image on a projection area including an object therein, and to an image pick-up device for picking up an image of the projection area including the object; an inputting unit that inputs an event in a first layer, inputs a second annotation image as a part of a first annotation image associated with the event to a second layer, inputs a third annotation image as the remaining part of the first annotation image to a third layer, and inputs a document to a fourth layer; a transmitting unit that transmits the second annotation image to the projector device; a receiving unit that receives a picked-up image from the image pick-up device; and a second information processing device that allocates the picked-up image to the second layer, and includes a display that displays the third annotation image and the document in an overlapping fashion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2007-056091 filed Mar. 6, 2007.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information sharing support system,an information processing device, a computer readable recording medium,and a computer controlling method.

2. Related Art

There have been known techniques for an information sharing supportsystem that collectively manages electronic information as to actualobjects such as a photo image of an object and a document.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation sharing support system that includes: a first informationprocessing device that is connected to a projector device for projectingan image on a projection area including an object therein, and to animage pick-up device for picking up an image of the projection areaincluding the object, with the projected image being projected on theprojection area; an inputting unit that inputs an event in a firstlayer, inputs a second annotation image that is a part of a firstannotation image associated with the event to a second layer, inputs athird annotation image that is the remaining part of the firstannotation image to a third layer, and inputs a document to a fourthlayer; a transmitting unit that transmits the second annotation image tothe projector device; a receiving unit that receives a picked-up imageof the projection area from the image pick-up device, the picked-upimage including the second annotation image projected on the projectionarea by the projector device; and a second information processing devicethat allocates the picked-up image received by the receiving unit to thesecond layer, and includes a display that displays the third annotationimage of the third layer and the document of the fourth layer in anoverlapping fashion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an informationsharing support system in accordance with a first exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows the functional structures of PCs 1 through 4;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of a PC 3;

FIG. 4 schematically shows the structure of data to be displayed in thedisplay area of a display;

FIG. 5 shows an example of data that is actually displayed in thedisplay area of the display;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedures for generating data to bedisplayed in the display area of the display;

FIG. 7 shows an example of data that is displayed in the display area ofa display in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedures for projecting a partialimage in a document area onto a table including an object by a projectordevice;

FIG. 9A is an example case where a partial image is projected so as notto overlap with the object;

FIG. 9B is an example case where a partial image is projected so as tooverlap with the object;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a modification of the operation of FIG.8;

FIG. 11A is an example case where a partial image is projected so as tooverlap with the object through a control operation performed to lay thepartial image on the corresponding portion of a picked-up image;

FIG. 11B is an example case where a partial image connected to thecorresponding portion of the object with an annotation is projectedthrough a control operation performed to connect the partial image tothe corresponding portion of the picked-up image;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedures for generating data to bedisplayed in the display area of a display in accordance with a thirdexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows an example of the display area after calibration isperformed;

FIG. 14A shows the positional relationship between a drawing of theoperation panel of a copying machine and the real view window beforemovement;

FIG. 14B shows the positional relationship between the drawing of theoperation panel of the copying machine and the real view window afterthe movement;

FIG. 15 shows an example case where the real view window is displayed onthe same level as the drawing of the operation panel of the copyingmachine; and

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedures for generating data to bedisplayed in the display area of a display in accordance with a fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is a description of exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an informationsharing support system in accordance with a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

An information sharing support system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes aremote instruction system 150 and an electronic information sharingsystem 151 that are connected to each other via a network 5.

The remote instruction system 150 includes a personal computer (PC) 1 (afirst information processing apparatus, an external device) thatfunctions as a server, and a PC 2 that functions as a client. The PC 1and the PC 2 are connected to each other via the network 5. A projector10 (a projector device) and a video camera 11 (an image pick-up device)are connected to the PC 1. In accordance with a control command from thePC 1, the projector 10 emits light beams or projects an annotation imageor the like onto an object placed on a table 15 via a half mirror 12.The video camera 11 picks up the reflection image of the table 15including an object 14 via the half mirror 12, and then outputs thepicked-up image to the PC 1.

The PC 1 outputs the picked-up image to the PC 2 and to the electronicinformation sharing system 151 via the network 5. The PC 2 is connectedto a display 205 that displays a display area 210 and a user interface(UI) 16. The PC 2 may be formed with a personal computer integrated withthe display 205.

The UI 16 includes a pen button, a text button, an erase button, and thelikes, and shows the types of line. In the display area 210, the imagepicked up by the video camera 11 is displayed. In FIG. 1, an image ofthe table 15 including the object 14 seen from the above is displayed inthe display area 210. When the pen button on the UI 16 is pressed todisplay a drawing or the like on the object 14 in the display area 210,the information as to the drawing is output from the PC 2 to theprojector 10 via the PC 1. Based on the information as to the drawing,the projector 10 draws a drawing on the object 14.

When a portion of the object 14 displayed in the display area 210 isselected, or a portion of the overall view of the object 14 is selected,a controller 201 (described later) of the PC 2 automatically creates atleast one partially enlarged view of the object 1, and links theselected portion of the entire object 14 to the partially enlarged viewwith an annotation. The PC 2 transmits the information as the overallview linked to the partially enlarged view linked with an annotation tothe projector 10, so that the overall view, the partially enlarged view,and the annotation connecting the two can be projected on the table 15.

The PC 2 outputs a control command to the PC 1, so as to controloperations of the projector 10 and the video camera 11 (to control theimage pick-up angle of the video camera 11 or the luminance of theprojector 10, for example).

The electronic information sharing system 151 includes a PC 3 (a secondinformation processing device) and a PC 4 that are connected to eachother via the network 5. The PC 3 is connected to a display 305. Adisplay area 310 of the display 305 includes a real view window 311 thatdisplays all or a part of the image picked up by the video camera 11,and a document area 312 that displays characters, a drawing, or a sillimage. The PC 3 receives the image picked up by the video camera 11 fromthe PC 1, and outputs the image to the real view window 311 of thedisplay 305. The PC 4 is connected to a display 405. A display area 410of the display 405 includes a real view window 411 that displays all ora part of the image picked up by the video camera 11, and a documentarea 412 that displays characters, a drawing, or a sill image. The PC 4receives the image picked up by the video camera 11 from the PC 1, andoutputs the image to the real view window 411 of the display 405. Thereal view windows 311 and 411 function as the layers forming data to bedisplayed in the display areas 310 and 410, as described later.

The PC 3 and the PC 4 share information with each other, and cansimultaneously display the same information on the respective displays.

The PC3 and the PC 4 may also be formed with personal computersintegrated with the displays 305 and 405, respectively.

FIG. 2 illustrates the functional structures of the PCs 1 through 4.

The PC 1 includes a controller 101 (an output unit) that controls theoperations of the projector 10 and the video camera 11 as well as theentire device, a transmission/reception unit 102 (an outputting unit)that exchanges information and data with other PCs via the network 5, amemory 104 that stores a control program and data and information, andan input unit 105 that is formed with a barcode reader or a RFID tagreader. The input unit 105 is used for reading a barcode attached to theobject 14 or the identification information (such as an ID) as to theobject 14 from a RFID tag. The controller 101 is connected to theprojector 10, the video camera 11, the transmission/reception unit 102,the memory 104, and the input unit 105.

The PC 2 includes the controller 201 that controls the entire device, atransmission/reception unit 202 that exchanges information and data withother PCs via the network 5, an operating unit 203 that is formed with amouse and a keyboard and the likes, a memory 204 that stores a controlprogram and data and information, and the display 205. The controller201 is connected to the transmission/reception unit 202, the operatingunit 203, the memory 204, and the display 205.

As well as the PCs 1 and 2, the PCs 3 and 4 include controllers 301 and401 (inputting units, transmitting units, receiving units, convertingunits, extracting units, matching units, connecting units, acquiringunits, retrieving units, setting units, size matching units, attachingunits), transmission/reception units 302 and 402 (transmitting units,receiving units, acquiring units), operating units 303 and 403(inputting units, applying units), memories 304 and 404, and displays305 and 405, respectively. The controller 301 is connected to thetransmission/reception unit 302, the operating unit 303, the memory 304,and the display 305. The controller 401 is connected to thetransmission/reception unit 402, the operating unit 403, the memory 404,and the display 405.

The PCs 1 through 4 are connected to one another via the respectivetransmission/reception units and the network 5.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the PC 3.

The PC 3 includes a CPU 21 that controls the entire device, a ROM 22that stores the control program, a RAM 23 that functions as a work area,a hard disk drive (HDD) 24 that stores various kinds of information andprograms, a mouse and keyboard 25, a network interface 26 that connectswith other computers, and a display 27 that is formed with a liquidcrystal monitor or a CRT. The CPU 21 is connected to the ROM 22, the RAM23, the hard disk drive (HDD) 24, the mouse and keyboard 25, the networkinterface 26, and the display 27 via a system bus 28.

Since the PCs 2 and 4 each have the same structure as the PC 3,explanation of them is omitted here. The PC 1 has the same structure asthe structure of the PC 3, except that the mouse and keyboard 25 and thedisplay 27 are excluded, and a barcode reader or a RFID reader isincluded. However, the PC 1 may have the mouse and keyboard 25 and thedisplay 27.

The controller 301 is equivalent to the CPU 21 that performs variousoperations according to the control program. The transmission/receptionunit 302 is equivalent to the network interface 26. The operating unit303 is equivalent to the mouse and keyboard 25. The memory 304 isequivalent to the hard disk drive (HDD) 24. The display 305 isequivalent to the display 27.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the structure of data to be displayed in thedisplay area 310 of the display 305.

The controller 301 of the PC 3 obtains a picked-up image 30 picked up bythe video camera 11 from the PC 1 via the transmission/reception unit302 and the network 5. The controller 301 then displays a part of thepicked-up image 30 on the real view window 311 (a second layer)functioning as a layer. The size and location (a location in the displayarea 310) of the real view window 311 can be changed by operating theoperating unit 303 (such as a mouse). The information as to the locationof the image displayed on the real view window 311 in relation to thepicked-up image 30, and the information as to the size of the imagedisplayed on the real view window 311 are stored in the memory 304 bythe controller 301. More specifically, the coordinate information as tothe image displayed on the real view window 311, with the coordinateinformation as to the picked-up image 30 being the reference, and theinformation as to the image size determined by the coordinateinformation are stored in the memory 304 by the controller 301. Thecontroller 301 can also change the scale of the image displayed on thereal view window 311.

The controller 301 combines an event receiving window 35 (a firstlayer), a stroke drawing layer 36 (a third layer), the real view window311, and a document image layer 37 (a fourth layer) with one another, soas to produce the data to be displayed in the display area 310 of thedisplay 305. The controller 301 then outputs the data to the display305. Although the event receiving window 35, the stroke drawing layer36, and the document image layer 37 are normally designed to betransparent, the layers may be colored by operating the operating unit303.

When an event to write an annotation or a document through the operatingunit 303 occurs, the controller 301 inputs the event to the eventreceiving window 35. The event receiving window 35 receives the event.In FIG. 4, the event receiving window 35 receives the event of anannotation 38 (a first annotation image).

The controller 301 inputs the portion of the annotation written outsidethe range of the real view window 311, to the stroke drawing layer 36through the operating unit 303. The portion of the annotation writtenoutside the range of the real view window 311 is drawn on the strokedrawing layer 36. In FIG. 4, an annotation 38 a (a third annotationimage) that is a part of the annotation 38 and is written outside therange of the real view window 311 is drawn on the stroke drawing layer36.

The controller 301 inputs the portion of the annotation written withinthe range of the real view window 311, to the real view window 311through the operating unit 303. The portion of the annotation writtenwithin the range of the real view window 311 is drawn on the real viewwindow 311, and a part of the picked-up image 30 is displayed on thereal view window 311. In FIG. 4, an annotation 38 b (a second annotationimage) that is a part of the annotation 38 and is written within therange of the real view window 311 is drawn on the real view window 311.

As the annotation 38 b is drawn on the real view window 311, thecontroller 301 transmits the coordinate information as to the locationof the annotation 38 b in the picked-up image 30, to the PC 1. The PC 1uses the coordinate information and a control command to control theprojector 10. The projector 10 projects the annotation 38 b on the table15 including the object 14. The controller 101 of the PC 1 converts thecoordinate information as to the location of the annotation 38 b in thepicked-up image 30, into the coordinate information compatible with theprojection area of the projector 10. The controller 101 then transmitsthe converted coordinate information as to the annotation 38 to theprojector 10. In this manner, the annotation 38 b in the picked-up image30 is projected in an accurate position by the projector 10.

Alternatively, the controller 301 of the PC 3 may convert the coordinateinformation as to the location of the annotation 38 b in the picked-upimage 30, into the coordinate information compatible with the projectionarea of the projector 10. The controller 301 may then transmit theconverted coordinate information as to the annotation 38 b to theprojector 10 via the PC 1.

The video camera 11 outputs a picked-up image of the table 15 includingthe object 14 onto which the annotation 38 b is projected, to thecontroller 301 of the PC 3 via the PC 1 and the network 5 in asuccessive manner (every 0.5 seconds, for example). The controller 301receives the picked-up image, and the annotation 38 b is drawn on thereal view window 311.

The controller 301 inputs a document to the document image layer 37 viathe operating unit 303. The written document is drawn on the documentimage layer 37 via the operating unit 303.

As described above, the data to be displayed in the display area 310 ofthe display 305 has such a structure that the layers each capable ofdesignating an annotation range are laid on one another. Thus,successive and transparent annotations are realized.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the data actually displayed in the displayarea 310 of the display 305.

In FIG. 5, the design drawing of a complex machine, explanation ofoperating buttons of the complex machine, and the annotation 38 a thatis a part of the annotation 38 are shown in the document area 312. Apicked-up image of the complex machine is displayed as an actualprojection of the annotation 38 b on the real view window 311.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the steps to be performed for creating thedata to be displayed in the display area 310 of the display 305.

First, the controller 301 of the PC 3 performs an initialization step(step S1). The initialization step includes the four procedures: (1)displaying the document image layer 37 on the entire screen (ordisplaying a document in the document area 312); (2) displaying the realview window 311; (3) displaying the stroke drawing layer 36 on theentire screen; and (4) displaying the event receiving window 35 on theentire screen.

The controller 301 receives an event (an operation) through theoperating unit 303 (step S2). After the generation of the data starts,the controller 301 constantly receives an instruction or an event (anoperation) such as writing through the operating unit 303 (step S3).

The controller 301 then determines whether the input of events(operations) through the operating unit 303 has finished (step S4). Ifthe controller 301 determines that the input of events has finished(“YES” in step S4), the controller 301 ends the data generation. If thecontroller 301 determines that the input of events has not finished(“NO” in step S4), the controller 301 determines whether an annotationis written within the range of the real view window 311 (step S5). In acase where the coordinate information as to an annotation falls withinthe range defined by the coordinate information as to the four cornersof the real view window 311, the controller 301 determines that theannotation is written within the range of the real view window 311.

If the controller 301 determines that the annotation is not writtenwithin the range of the real view window 311 (“NO” in step S5), thecontroller 301 draws the annotation on the stroke drawing layer 36 (stepS6), and returns to step S2. In this manner, the stroke drawing layer 36displays the annotation written outside the range of the real viewwindow 311.

If the controller 301 determines that the annotation is written withinthe range of the real view window (“YES” in step S5), the controller 301transmits the coordinate information as to the location of theannotation in the picked-up image 30, to the PC 1 via thetransmission/reception unit 302 (step S7), and then returns to step S2.

Next, the steps to be performed by the PC 1, the projector 10, and thevideo camera 11 are described.

First, the controller 101 of the PC 1 performs an initialization step,and stores in the memory 104 the identification information (such as theID) as to the object 14 read by the input unit 105 (step S8). Here, theinitialization step includes the procedure for outputting a controlcommand to the projector 10 and the video camera 11, the procedure forperforming a projection by the projector 10, and the procedure foroutputting an image picked up by the video camera 11. The procedures instep S8 are carried out independently of the procedures carried out onthe PC 3 side.

The controller 101 then receives the coordinate information as to thelocation of the annotation in the picked-up image 30 from the PC 3 viathe network 5 and the transmission/reception unit 102 (step S9). Afterthe generation of the data starts, the controller 101 constantlyreceives an instruction or an event (an operation) such as writing fromthe PC 2 (step S10).

The controller 101 then determines whether the input of the coordinateinformation as to the location of the annotation in the picked-up image30 has finished (step S11).

If the controller 101 determines that the input of the coordinateinformation has finished (“YES” in step S11), the controller 101 endsthe data generation. If the controller 101 determines that the input ofthe coordinate information has not finished (“NO” in step S11), thecontroller 101 converts the coordinate information into coordinateinformation compatible with the projector 10. Using the convertedcoordinate information and a control command, the controller 101controls the projector 10, so that the projector 10 projects anannotation according to the converted coordinate information on thetable 15 including the object 14 (step S12). The video camera 11 outputsa picked-up image of the table 15 including the object 14 on which theannotation is projected, to the controller 301 of the PC 3 via the PC 1,the network 5, and the transmission/reception unit 302, while thecontroller 101 outputs the identification information as to the object14 stored in the memory 104, to the controller 301 of the PC 3 (stepS13).

The controller 301 receives the picked-up image, and updates the displayon the real view window 311 (step S14) In this manner, an annotation isdisplayed, together with the table 15 including the object 14, on thereal view window 311. The display updating in step S14 is performed in asuccessive manner. The controller 301 also obtains the identificationinformation as to the object 14 from the PC 1, and stores theidentification information in the memory 304 (step S15).

In this exemplary embodiment, the controller 301 may extract the featurepoints of the document (including characters, a drawing, or a sillimage) written on the document image layer 37 and the picked-up image onthe real view window 311. The controller 301 may then performfeature-point matching between the extracted feature points, and connectmatching feature points to each other with an annotation. The portion ofthe annotation written outside the range of the real view window 311 isdrawn on the stroke drawing layer 36, and the portion of the annotationwritten within the range of the real view window 311 is drawn on thereal view window 311 through the projecting operation of the projector10 and the image pick-up operation of the video camera 11 according tothe flowchart shown in FIG. 6.

With this arrangement, the user who views the display 305 of the PC 3can readily grasp the correspondence in the relationship between theactual object 14 displayed as an picked-up image and the subjectdocument.

When receiving a picked-up image from the video camera 11, thecontroller 301 may obtain the attribute information as to the projector10 and the video camera 11 from the PC 1, and store the attributeinformation in the memory 304. The attribute information includes theinformation as to the projecting position and the projection range ofthe projector 10, and the information as to the image picking positionand the image pick-up range of the video camera 11.

When the controller 301 stores the data to be displayed in the displayarea 310 of the display 305 in the memory 304, an annotation (includingcoordinate information), a picked-up image within the real view window311, and the main information as to the subject document are stored inthe memory 304. At the same time, the attribute information (thepositional information and range information) as to the real view window311, the attribute information as to the document (including thedocument ID, the subject page number(s), the display range of thedocument, and the display position of the document), the attributeinformation as to the object (the identification information (ID) as tothe object), and the attribute information as to the projector 10 andthe video camera 11 (including the information as to the projectingposition and the projection range of the projector 10, and theinformation as to the image picking position and the image pick-up rangeof the video camera 11) may be associated with the main information, andbe stored in the memory 304.

With this arrangement, the controller 301 can retrieve the data to bedisplayed in the display area 310 of the display 305, based on theattribute information such as the identification information as to theobject. The controller 301 can also perform a control operation so thatthe data stored in the memory 304 can be displayed in the display area310 of the display 305.

As described above, in accordance with this exemplary embodiment, thecontroller 301 inputs the operation of drawing the annotation 38 to theevent receiving window 35 via the operating unit 303, inputs theannotation 38 b that is taken by the video camera 11 and is a part ofthe annotation 38 to the real view window 311, inputs the annotation 38a that is the remaining part of the annotation 38 to the stroke drawinglayer 36, and inputs the subject document to the document image layer37. The controller 301 then transmits the annotation 38 b to theprojector 10 via the transmission/reception unit 302, and receives apicked-up image of the projection area in which the annotation 38 b isprojected by the projector 10, from the video camera 11 via thetransmission/reception unit 302. The display 305 allocates the picked-upimage received by the controller 301 to the real view window 311, anddisplays the picked-up image, the annotation 38 a of the stroke drawinglayer 36, and the document of the document image layer 37 in anoverlapping fashion.

Since the display 305 displays the real view window 311, the strokedrawing layer 36, and the document image layer 37 in an overlappingfashion, the annotation that connects the object and the document isdisplayed in a continuous and transparent manner, and the user of the PC3 can readily grasp the correspondence in the relationship between theobject and the document. Also, the continuous and transparent annotation38 can be realized with the annotation 38 b and the annotation 38 a.

The controller 301 also transmits the coordinate information as to theannotation 38 b in the picked-up image 30 to the controller 101 of thePC 1 via the transmission/reception unit 302. The controller 101 in turnconverts the coordinate information as to the annotation 38 b into thecoordinate information compatible with the projection area of theprojector 10, and transmits the converted coordinate information to theprojector 10. Thus, the annotation 38 b can be projected on an accuratelocation in the projection area including the object 14.

The controller 301 further extracts the feature points of the documentdrawn on the document image layer 37 and the picked-up image displayedon the real view window 311. The controller 301 then performs matchingbetween the extracted feature points, and connects matching featurepoints to each other with an annotation. Thus, the user who views thedisplay 305 of the PC 3 can readily grasp the correspondence in therelationship between the actual objected displayed as a picked-up imageand the document.

The controller 301 further acquires the attribute information as to theobject 14 and the attribute information as to the projector 10 and thevideo camera 11. The data to be displayed on the display 305, theattribute information as to the real view window 311, the attributeinformation as to the subject document, the attribute information as tothe object, and the attribute information as to the projector 10 and thevideo camera 11 are associated with one another and are stored in thememory 304. Based on at least one piece of attribute information amongthe attribute information as to the real view window 311, the attributeinformation as to the document, the attribute information as to theobject, and the attribute information as to the projector 10 and thevideo camera 11, the controller 301 retrieves the data to be displayedon the display 305. Thus, in accordance with the various kinds ofattribute information, the data to be displayed on the display 305 canbe retrieved.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

Next, a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention isdescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In this exemplary embodiment, a document (such as a drawing) written inthe document area 312 is dragged and dropped on the real view window311, so that the projector 10 projects the document on the table 15including the object 14.

Since the information sharing support system of this exemplaryembodiment has the same structure as the above-described informationsharing support system 100, explanation of the structure of theinformation sharing support system of this exemplary embodiment isomitted here.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the data displayed in the display area 310 ofthe display 305. In this example, the object 14 is the operation panelof a copying machine.

In FIG. 7, a view of a part of the operation panel of the copyingmachine and explanation of the buttons of the copying machine aredisplayed in the document area 312. A picked-up image of the operationpanel of the copying machine is displayed on the real view window 311.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, a user can select a partial image 315 ofthe document (a view of a part of the operation panel of the copyingmachine) written in the document area 312 through the operating unit303, and can drag and drop the selected partial image 315 on the realview window 311.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedures for projecting a partialimage written in the document area 312 onto the table 15 including theobject 14, using the projector 10.

First, the controller 301 receives an event from the operating unit 303(step S101), and determines whether a designated region of a partialimage is in the document area 312 (step S102). If there is not adesignated region of a partial image in the document area 312 (“NO” instep S102), the controller 301 determines whether the drag and drop fordrawing a rectangle to designate a partial image on the stroke drawinglayer 36 has finished (step S103). The shape of the region fordesignating a partial image is not limited to a rectangular shape, butmay be a circular shape of an oval shape, for example.

If the controller 301 determines that the drag and drop has not finished(“NO” in step S103), the controller 301 continues to draw the rectangleto designate a partial image on the stroke drawing layer 36 (step S104),and returns to step S102. If the controller 301 determines that the dragand drop has finished (“YES” in step S103), the controller 301 uses thedocument written on the document image layer 37 corresponding to theregion selected with the rectangular, to produce a partial image (stepS105), and then returns to step S102.

If there is a designated region of a partial image in the document area312 (“YES” in step S102), the controller 301 determines whether the dragand drop of a partial image on the real view window 311 has finished(step S106). If the controller 301 determines that the drag and drop hasnot finished (“NO” in step S106), or if a partial image is still beingdragged, the controller 301 displays a thumbnail of the partial image atthe location of a mouse cursor that is not shown in FIG. 7 (step S107),and returns to step S102. If the controller 301 determines that the dragand drop has finished (“YES” in step S106), the controller 301 transmitsthe coordinate information as to the picked-up image 30 displayed on thereal view window 311 having the data of the partial image and thepartial image attached thereonto (or dropped thereon), to the PC 1 viathe transmission/reception unit 302 and the network 5 (step S108), andreturns to step S102.

Next, the steps to be performed by the PC 1, the projector 10, and thevideo camera 11 are described.

First, the controller 101 of the PC 1 performs an initialization step,and stores, in the memory 104, the identification information (such asan ID) as to the object 14 read by the input unit 105 (step S109). Theprocedures in the initialization step include outputting a controlcommand to the projector 10 and the video camera 11, performing aprojection by the projector 10, and outputting an image picked up by thevideo camera 11. The procedures in step S109 are carried outindependently of the procedures to be carried out on the PC 3 side.

The controller 101 receives the coordinate information as to thepicked-up image 30 on the real view window 311 having the data of thepartial image and the partial image attached thereonto (or droppedthereon), from the PC 3 via the network 5 and the transmission/receptionunit 102 (step S110). Once this operation starts, the controller 101constantly receives an instruction or an event (an operation) such aswriting from the PC 2 (step S111).

The controller 101 then determines whether the input of the data of thepartial image and the coordinate information has finished (step S112).

If the controller 101 determines that the input of the data of thepartial image and the coordinate information has finished (“YES” in stepS112), the controller 101 ends this operation. If the controller 101determines that the input has not finished (“NO” in step S112), thecontroller 101 converts the coordinate information as to the partialimage into the coordinate information compatible with the projector 10.Using the converted information, the data of the partial image, and thecontrol command, the controller 101 controls the projector 10, so thatthe projector 10 projects the partial image corresponding to theconverted coordinate information onto the table 15 including the object14 (step S113). The video camera 11 outputs a picked-up image of thetable 15 including the object 14 having this partial image projectedthereon, to the controller 301 of the PC 3 via the network 5 and thetransmission/reception unit 302, while the controller 101 outputs theidentification information as to the object 14 stored in the memory 104,to the controller 301 of the PC 3 (step S114).

The controller 301 receives this picked-up image, and updates thedisplay on the real view window 311 (step S115). In this manner, thetable 15 including the object 14 having the partial image projectedthereon is displayed on the real view window 311. The display updatingprocedure in step S115 is carried out in a successive manner. Thecontroller 301 also obtains the identification information as to theobject 14 from the PC 1, and stores the identification information inthe memory 304 (step S116).

FIGS. 9A and 9B show examples of projections of the partial image 315projected by the projector 10 onto the table 15 including the object 14(the operation panel of a copying machine). FIG. 9A shows an examplecase where the partial image 315 is projected so as not to overlap withthe object 14. FIG. 9B shows an example case where the partial image 315is projected so as to overlap with the object 14.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a modification of the operation shown inFIG. 8. The same steps as those in FIG. 8 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and explanation of them is omitted here.

First, in response to an input from a user through the operating unit303, the controller 301 lays the partial image 315 on the correspondingportion of the picked-up image displayed on the real view window 311, orconnects the partial image 315 (that is to be projected onto the table15 including the object 14 by the projector 10) attached onto the realview window 311 to the corresponding portion of the picked-up imagedisplayed on the real view window 311 with an annotation (step S120).After that, the controller 301 moves on to step S101.

If the result of the determination is “YES” in step S6, the controller301 extracts the feature points of the partial image 351 attached ontothe real view window 311 and the picked-up image on the real view window311, and performs a matching operation between the extracted featurepoints (step S121).

The controller 301 then determines whether the procedure carried out instep S120 is the laying of the partial image 315 on the correspondingportion of the picked-up image or the connecting of the partial image315 to the corresponding portion of the picked-up image (step S122).

If the procedure carried out in step S120 is the laying of the partialimage 315 on the corresponding portion of the picked-up image, thecontroller 301 corrects the attachment position of the partial image315, so that the feature points associated with each other as a resultof the matching process overlap with each other. The controller 301 thentransmits the coordinate information as to the picked-up image 30 on thereal view window 311 onto which the data of the partial image and thepartial image having the attachment position corrected are attached, tothe PC 1 (step S123). After that, the controller 301 returns to stepS102.

If the procedure carried out in step S120 is the connecting of thepartial image 315 to the corresponding portion of the picked-up image,the controller 301 transmits the data of the partial image, thecoordinate information that corresponds to the picked-up image 30 on thereal view window 311 and is selected arbitrarily from a region notoverlapping with the corresponding portion of the picked-up image(preferably the coordinate information corresponding to an empty regionon the table 15), and the coordinate information as to the annotationthat connects the partial image 315 to the corresponding portion of thepicked-up image (the coordinate information as to the annotation thatconnects at least one pair of matching feature points), to the PC 1(step S124). After that, the controller 301 returns to step S102.

If the procedure carried out in step S120 is the laying of the partialimage 315 on the corresponding portion of the picked-up image, the sameprocedure as that in step S113 of FIG. 8 is carried out in step S113.

If the procedure carried out in step S120 is the connecting of thepartial image 315 to the corresponding portion of the picked-up image,the controller 101 in step S113 converts the arbitrarily selectedcoordinate information into coordinate information compatible with theprojector 10. Using the converted coordinate information, the partialimage data, the coordinate information as to the annotation, and thecontrol command, the controller 101 controls the projector 10, so thatthe projector 10 projects the partial image corresponding to theconverted coordinate information and the annotation onto the table 15including the object 14.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show examples of projections of the partial image 315projected by the projector 10 onto the table 15 including the object 14(the operation panel of a copying machine). FIG. 11A shows an examplecase where the partial image 315 is projected so as to overlap with theobject 14 through the procedure for laying the partial image 315 on thecorresponding portion of the picked-up image. FIG. 11B shows an examplecase where the partial image 315 connected to the corresponding portionof the picked-up image with an annotation is projected as a result ofthe procedure carried out to connect the partial image 315 to thecorresponding portion of the picked-up image.

In this exemplary embodiment, upon receipt of a picked-up image from thevideo camera 11, the controller 301 may obtain the attribute informationas to the projector 10 and the video camera 11 from the PC 1, and storethe attribute information in the memory 304. Here, the attributeinformation includes the information as to the projecting position andthe projection range of the projector 10, and the information as to theimage picking position and the image pick-up range of the video camera11.

When the controller 301 stores the data to be displayed in the displayarea 310 of the display 305 in the memory 304, a partial image(including coordinate information), an annotation (including coordinateinformation), a picked-up image within the real view window 311, and themain information as to the subject document are stored in the memory304. At the same time, the attribute information (the positionalinformation and range information) as to the real view window 311, theattribute information as to the document (including the document ID, thesubject page number(s), the display range of the document, and thedisplay position of the document), the attribute information as to theobject (the identification information (ID) as to the object), and theattribute information as to the projector 10 and the video camera 11(including the information as to the projecting position and theprojection range of the projector 10, and the information as to theimage picking position and the image pick-up range of the video camera11) may be associated with the main information, and be stored in thememory 304.

With this arrangement, the controller 301 can retrieve the data to bedisplayed in the display area 310 of the display 305, based on theattribute information such as the identification information as to theobject. The controller 301 can also perform a control operation so thatthe data stored in the memory 304 can be displayed in the display area310 of the display 305.

As described above, in accordance with this exemplary embodiment, thecontroller 301 inputs the operation of drawing the annotation 38 to theevent receiving window 35 via the operating unit 303, inputs theannotation 38 b that is taken by the video camera 11 and is a part ofthe annotation 38 to the real view window 311, inputs the annotation 38a that is the remaining part of the annotation 38 to the stroke drawinglayer 36, and inputs the subject document to the document image layer37. The controller 301 selects a part of the document as a partialimage, and attaches the partial image to the real view window 311. Thecontroller 301 then transmits the partial image and the coordinateinformation as to the partial image to the projector 10 via thetransmission/reception unit 302. Based on the coordinate information asto the partial image, the projector 10 projects a partial image on theprojection area including the object 14.

Accordingly, a user near the projection area can view the partial image,and recognize the correspondence in the relationship between the object14 and the document. Particularly, in a case where the partial image isattached to the real view window 311 so as to overlap with the object14, the user in the vicinity of the projection area can recognize thedifference between the partial image and the object 14. Meanwhile, theuser of the PC 3 views the picked-up image displayed on the real viewwindow 311, and can determine the point on which the partial image (apart of the document) is to be projected, while taking intoconsideration the position and the likes of the object 14.

Here, the partial image may not be a picture image or the like that canbe visually rendered, but may be multimedia information such as audio orvideo information.

The controller 301 also receives a picked-up image of the projectionarea on which the partial image is projected by the projector 10, fromthe video camera 11 via the transmission/reception unit 302. The display305 allocates the picked-up image received by the controller 301 to thereal view window 311, and displays the picked-up image, the annotation38 a of the stroke drawing layer 36, and the document of the documentimage layer 37 in an overlapping fashion. Accordingly, the user of thePC 3 can check how the partial image is projected on the projection areaincluding the object 14.

The controller 301 extracts the feature points of the partial image andthe picked-up image displayed on the real view window 311. Thecontroller 301 then performs matching between the extracted featurepoints, and corrects the position of the partial image so that thematching feature points can overlap with each other. In this manner, thepartial image can be laid on the corresponding portion of the picked-upimage with high precision. As a result, the user on the side of theprojection area can view the partial image and the object 14 in anoverlapping fashion, and can readily recognize the difference betweenthe partial image and the object 14.

The controller 301 also extracts the feature points of the partial imageand the picked-up image displayed on the real view window 311. Thecontroller 301 performs matching between the extracted feature points,and connects matching feature points to each other with an annotation.The controller 301 then transmits the partial image, the coordinateinformation as to the partial image, and the coordinate information asto the annotation, to the projector 10 via the transmission/receptionunit 302. Based on the coordinate information as to the partial imageand the annotation, the projector 10 projects the partial image and theannotation on the projection area including the object 14. Accordingly,the user on the side of the projection area can readily grasp thecorrespondence in the relationship between the actual object and thedocument. Here, the matching may not be performed by the above-describedmethod of this exemplary embodiment, but may be performed by a knownmatching method such as the SIFT method.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

Next, a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention isdescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to put the real view window311 into a visible or invisible state. With the use of the informationwritten in the display area 210 of the display 205 or the pen of the UI16 of the PC 2, the information written on the object 14 or the table 15is directly reflected on the stroke drawing layer 36 of the PC 3.

Since the information sharing support system of this exemplaryembodiment has the same structure as the above-described informationsharing support system 100, explanation of the structure of theinformation sharing support system of this exemplary embodiment isomitted here.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the steps to be performed for creatingthe data to be displayed in the display area 310 of the display 305.

First, the controller 301 of the PC 3 performs an initialization step(step S201). The initialization step includes the four procedures: (1)displaying the document image layer 37 on the entire screen (ordisplaying the subject document in the document area 312); (2)displaying the real view window 311; (3) displaying the stroke drawinglayer 36 on the entire screen; and (4) displaying the event receivingwindow 35 on the entire screen.

The controller 301 then performs calibration of the real view window 311(step S202). Here, to perform calibration of the real view window 311 isto uniform the scale of the data displayed on the real view window 311and the scale of the document (such as a drawing) written in thedocument area 312, and to place the real view window 311 at thecorresponding location on the document (such as a drawing) written inthe document area 312. With this arrangement, the data displayed on thereal view window 311 can have continuity with the document (such as adrawing) written in the document area 312.

After the calibration is performed, the image pick-up area of the table15 including the object 14 becomes equal to the display area 310 insize.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the display area 310 after the calibration.In this example, a view of the operation panel of a copying machine iswritten in the document area 312, and the real view window 311 is placedin a position overlapping with a display 500 of the copying machine.

In this case, the object 14 is the actual operation panel of the copyingmachine or a design drawing of the operation panel. An image of theobject 14 picked up by the video camera 11 is displayed on the real viewwindow 311 on the same scale as the drawing of the operation panel ofthe copying machine written in the document area 312. As shown in FIG.13, when a rectangular annotation is drawn along the outer periphery ofthe display 500 of the copying machine through the operating unit 303,an annotation 501 is drawn on the stroke drawing layer 36, and anannotation 502 is displayed on the real view window 311.

FIG. 14A shows the positional relationship between the drawing of theoperation panel of the copying machine and the real view window 311before movement. FIG. 14B shows the positional relationship between thedrawing of the operation panel of the copying machine and the real viewwindow 311 after movement.

The controller 301 performs calibration of the real view window 311, andthe drawing of the operation panel of the copying machine and the datawithin the real view window 311 are displayed on the same scales.Accordingly, when the real view window 311 is moved as shown in FIGS.14A and 14B, the controller 301 changes the coordinate information as tothe real view window 311 in the picked-up image 30, depending on thedistance the real view window 311 has been moved.

For example, in a (x, y) coordinate system, the region of the picked-upimage 30 is represented by (0, 0), (800, 0), (0, 640), and (800, 640).The coordinate information as to the real view window 311 beforemovement is (400, 200), (500, 200), (400, 400), and (500, 400). When thereal view window 311 is moved by 100 in the x-direction, the controller301 changes the coordinate information as to the real view window 311 to(500, 200), (600, 200), (500, 400), and (600, 400) after the movement.Accordingly, an image picked up at the destination point is displayed onthe real view window 311.

Referring back to FIG. 12, the controller 301 receives an input of anevent (an operation) through the operating unit 303 (step S203). Afterthe generation of the data starts, the controller 301 constantlyreceives an instruction to put the real view window 311 into a visibleor invisible state, and an event (an operation) such as writing (stepS204).

The controller 301 determines whether an instruction to put the realview window 311 into a visible or invisible state has been input throughthe operating unit 303 (step S205).

If the controller 301 determines in step S205 that an instruction to putthe real view window 311 into a visible state has been input through theoperating unit 303, the controller 301 moves on to step S207. If thecontroller 301 determines in step S205 that an instruction to put thereal view window 311 into an invisible state has been input through theoperating unit 303, the controller 301 deletes the image displayed onthe real view window (step S206), and moves on to step S207. Morespecifically, the controller 301 puts the layer of the real view window311 into a non-display state.

In step S207, the controller 301 determines whether an annotation hasbeen written within the range of the real view window 311. Morespecifically, the controller 301 determines that an annotation has beenwritten in the range of the real view window 311, if the coordinateinformation as to the annotation is within a region defined by thecoordinate information as to the four corners of the real view window311.

If the result of the determination in step S207 is “NO”, the controller301 draws an annotation on the stroke drawing layer 36 (step S208), andreturns to step S203. Accordingly the stroke drawing layer 36 displaysan annotation that is written outside the real view window 311.

If the result of the determination in step S207 is “YES”, the controller301 transmits the coordinate information as to the annotation writtenwithin the range of the real view window 311 with respect to thepicked-up image 30, to the PC 1 (step S209). After that, the controller301 returns to step S203. If the real view window 311 is invisible, theannotation written within the range of the real view window 311 is alsodrawn on the stroke drawing layer 36 in step S209.

Next, the steps to be performed by the PC 1, the projector 10, and thevideo camera 11 are described.

First, the controller 101 of the PC 1 performs an initialization step,and stores in the memory 104 the identification information (such as anID) as to the object 14 read by the input unit 105 (step S210). Here,the procedures in the initialization step include outputting a controlcommand to the projector 10 and the video camera 11, performing aprojection by the projector 10, and outputting an image picked up by thevideo camera 11. The procedures in step S210 are carried outindependently of the procedures carried out on the PC 3 side.

The controller 101 then receives an input of the coordinate informationas to the annotation on the picked-up image 30, from the PC 3 via thenetwork 5 and the transmission/reception unit 102 (step S211). Once thegeneration of the data starts, the controller 101 constantly receives aninstruction or an event (an operation) such as writing from the PC 2(step S212).

The controller 101 then converts the coordinate information intocoordinate information compatible with the projector 10, and controlsthe projector 10, using the converted coordinate information and thecontrol command. The projector 10 projects an annotation according tothe converted coordinate information on the table 15 including theobject 14 (step S213). The video camera 11 picks up an image of thetable 15 including the object 14 on which the annotation is projected,and outputs the picked-up image to the controller 301 of the PC 3 viathe PC 1, the network 5, and the transmission/reception unit 302. Thecontroller 101 outputs the identification information as to the object14 stored in the memory 104, to the controller 301 of the PC 3 (stepS215).

The controller 301 receives the picked-up image, and updates the displayon the real view window 311 (step S219). Accordingly, the real viewwindow 311 displays the annotation, together with the table 15 includingthe object 14. The updating of the display in step S219 is performed ina successive manner. The controller 301 also obtains the identificationinformation as to the object 14 from the PC 1, and stores theidentification information in the memory 304 (step S220).

The controller 101 stores the coordinate information as to theannotation on the picked-up image in the memory 104 (step S214). Thecoordinate information stored here is received in step S211. Thecontroller 101 also stores a picked-up image (a frame image) in thememory 104 (step S216). The picked-up image stored here is output to thecontroller 301 in step S215. The storing of the coordinate informationas to the annotation in step S214 and the storing of the picked-up imagein step S216 are carried out at regular intervals (every 0.5 seconds,for example).

The controller 101 then extracts the difference between the consecutivepicked-up images stored in the memory 104 (step S217). Based on thecoordinate information as to the annotation corresponding to theconsecutive picked-up images, the controller 101 removes the annotationfrom the difference extraction result (step S218). By carrying out theprocedures of steps S214 through S218, the write information writtendirectly on the object 14 or the table 15 can be extracted as anannotation, with the use of the write information written in the displayarea 210 of the display 205 or the pen of the UI 16 of the PC 2.

Lastly, the controller 101 outputs the information obtained by removingthe annotation in step S218 (the write information as the annotationthat is written directly on the object 14 or the table 15 with the useof the write information written in the display area 210 of the display205 or the pen of the UI 16 of the PC 2), to the controller 301 via thetransmission/reception unit 102, the network 5, and thetransmission/reception unit 302 (step S218 step S208).

Using the write information written in the display area 210 of thedisplay 205 or the pen of the UI 16 of the PC 2, the controller 301draws the write information, which is written directly on the object 14or the table 15, on the stroke drawing layer (step S208).

As described above, the controller 301 performs calibration. With thesize of the image pick-up area of the table 15 including the object 14(the image pick-up area of a picked-up image) being the same as the sizeof the display area 310, the controller 101 extracts write information,and the controller 301 draws the write information on the stroke drawinglayer 36. Thus, the write information can be reflected at thecorresponding portion of the display area 310.

In the display area 310 after the calibration as shown in FIG. 13, thecontroller 301 may perform a setting operation so that the real viewwindow 311 is displayed on the same level as the drawing of theoperation panel of the copying machine written in the document area 312.FIG. 15 shows an example of the display area 310 after this setting. Thedotted lines in the real view window 311 indicate a part of a picked-upimage of the operation panel of the copying machine.

The controller 301 extracts the feature points of the drawing of theoperation panel of the copying machine in the document area 312 (thedocument written on the document image layer 37) and the picked-up imagedisplayed on the real view window 311. The controller 301 then performsmatching between the extracted feature points, and connects matchingfeature points to each other with an annotation.

Accordingly, the user who views the display 305 of the PC 3 can readilygrasp the correspondence in the relationship between the actual objectdisplayed as a picked-up image (or the actual operation panel or thedesign drawing of the operation panel of the copying machine) and thedocument (the drawing of the operation panel of the copying machine inthe document area 312).

As described above, the controller 301 controls the display 305 todisplay the real view window 311 in a visible fashion or in an invisiblefashion. Accordingly, the real view window 311 can be made invisible. Asa result, the user of the PC 3 can automatically project the annotationwritten in the real view window 311 on the projection area including theobject, without becoming conscious of the existence of the real viewwindow 311 displaying a picked-up image.

By performing calibration, the controller 301 matches the size of theimage pick-up area of the video camera 11 and the size of the displayarea 310 of the display 305 with each other. The controller 101 detectsthe write information written on the object or in the projection area asan annotation, and outputs the annotation to the PC 3. With the imagepick-up area of the video camera 11 being equal to the display area 310of the display 305 in size, the display 305 displays the writeinformation on the stroke drawing layer 36. Accordingly, the writeinformation as an annotation written directly on the object or in theprojection area can be reflected at the corresponding portion of thedisplay 305.

The controller 101 further extracts the difference between consecutiveimages picked up by the video camera 11, and removes the annotation fromthe consecutive picked-up images from the extraction result. In thismanner, the write information written on the object or in the projectionarea can be detected with high precision.

Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

Next, a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention isdescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this exemplary embodiment, a document written in the document imagelayer 37 is projected on a blank region on the table 15, so as not tooverlap with the object 14.

Since the information sharing support system of this exemplary embedmenthas the same structure as the above-described information sharingsupport system 100, explanation of the structure of the informationsharing support system of this exemplary embodiment is omitted here.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the procedures for generating the data tobe displayed in the display area 310 of the display 305.

First, the controller 301 performs calibration of the real view window311 (step S301). Since the calibration of the real view window 311 hasalready been described in the third exemplary embodiment, explanation ofthe calibration is omitted here. After the calibration, the imagepick-up area of the table 15 including the object 14 (the image pick-uparea of a picked-up image) becomes equal to the display area 310 insize.

The controller 301 then obtains the coordinate information as to thereal view window 311 with respect to the picked-up image 30 (step S302),and also obtains the information (the annotation 38 a and the subjectdocument) written on the stroke drawing layer 36 and the document imagelayer 37 outside the range of the real view window 311 (step S303). Thecontroller 301 transmits the information to the PC 1 via thetransmission/reception unit 302 and the network 5 (step S304). To bespecific, the information to be transmitted to the PC 1 is the dataimage to be displayed in the display area 310, without the region of thereal view window 311 being omitted.

Next, the steps to be performed by the PC 1, the projector 10, and thevideo camera 11 are described.

First, the controller 101 of the PC 1 performs an initialization step,and stores in the memory 104 the identification information (such as anID) as to the object 14 read by the input unit 105 (step S305). Here,the procedures in the initialization step include outputting a controlcommand to the projector 10 and the video camera 11, performing aprojection by the projector 10, and outputting an image picked up by thevideo camera 11. The procedures in step S305 are carried outindependently of the procedures carried out on the PC 3 side.

The controller 101 then receives an input of the data image to bedisplayed in the display area 310, with the region of the real viewwindow 311 being omitted, from the PC 3 via the network 5 and thetransmission/reception unit 102 (step S306). Once the generation of thedata starts, the controller 101 constantly receives an instruction or anevent (an operation) such as writing from the PC 2 (step S307).

The controller 101 determines whether the input of the data image to bedisplayed in the display area 310 without the region of the real viewwindow 311 has been finished (step S308).

If the result of the determination is “YES” in step S308, the datagenerating operation is ended. If the result of the determination is“NO” in step S308, the controller 101 controls the projector 10, usingthe control command and the data image to be displayed in the displayarea 310 without the region of the real view window 311. Accordingly,the projector 10 projects the image on the table 15 including the object14 (S309). The video camera 11 outputs a picked-up image of the table 15including the object 14 on which the annotation is projected, to thecontroller 301 of the PC 3 via the network 5 and thetransmission/reception unit 302. The controller 101 outputs theidentification information as to the object 14 stored in the memory 104,to the controller 301 of the PC 3 (step S310).

The controller 301 receives the picked-up image, and updates the displayon the real view window 311 (step S311). Accordingly, the real viewwindow 311 displays an annotation, together with the table 15 includingthe object 14. The updating of the display in step S311 is performed ina successive manner. The controller 301 also obtains the identificationinformation as to the object 14 from the PC 1, and stores theidentification information in the memory 304 (step S312).

As in the first exemplary embodiment, the controller 301 of thisexemplary embodiment may extract the feature points of the documents(including characters, a drawing, or a still image) written on thedocument image layer 37 and the picked-up image displayed within thereal view window 311. The controller 301 may then perform matchingbetween the extracted feature points, and connect matching featurepoints to each other with an annotation. Here, the matching may not beperformed by the above-described method of this exemplary embodiment,but may be performed by a known matching method such as the SIFT method.

Accordingly, the user who views the display 305 of the PC 3 can readilygrasp the correspondence in the relationship between the actual object14 displayed as a picked-up image and the document.

Upon receipt of a picked-up image from the video camera 11, thecontroller 301 may obtain the attribute information as to the projector10 and the video camera 11 from the PC 1, and store the attributeinformation in the memory 304. Here, the attribute information includesthe information as to the projecting position and the projection rangeof the projector 10, and the information as to the image pickingposition and the image pick-up range of the video camera 11.

When the controller 301 stores the data to be displayed in the displayarea 310 of the display 305 in the memory 304, an annotation (includingcoordinate information), a picked-up image within the real view window311, and the main information as to the subject document are stored inthe memory 304. At the same time, the attribute information (thepositional information and range information) as to the real view window311, the attribute information as to the document (including thedocument ID, the subject page number(s), the display range of thedocument, and the display position of the document), the attributeinformation as to the object (the identification information (ID) as tothe object), and the attribute information as to the projector 10 andthe video camera 11 (including the information as to the projectingposition and the projection range of the projector 10, and theinformation as to the image picking position and the image pick-up rangeof the video camera 11) may be associated with the main information, andbe stored in the memory 304.

With this arrangement, the controller 301 can retrieve the data to bedisplayed in the display area 310 of the display 305, based on theattribute information such as the identification information as to theobject. The controller 301 can also perform a control operation so thatthe data stored in the memory 304 can be displayed in the display area310 of the display 305.

As described above, in accordance with this exemplary embodiment, thecontroller 301 matches the size of the image pick-up area of the videocamera 11 and the size of the display area 310 of the display 305 witheach other. The controller 301 then transmits the annotation 38 a drawnon the stroke drawing layer 36 and the document drawn on the documentimage layer 37 to the projector 10, so that the annotation 38 a and thedocument can be projected on the projection area, and the sameinformation (the annotation 38 a and the document) can be displayed bothin the projection area and the display area 310 of the display 305.Accordingly, the information can be shared between the user on theprojection area side and the user of the PC 3.

A recording medium on which the software program for realizing thefunctions of the PCs 1 through 4 is recorded may be supplied to each PC,and the CPU of each PC may read and execute the program recorded on therecording medium. In this manner, the same effects as those of theabove-described first through fourth exemplary embodiments can beachieved. The recording medium for providing the program may be aCD-ROM, a DVD, or a SD card, for example.

Alternatively, the CPU of each PC may execute a software program forrealizing the functions of each PC, so as to achieve the same effects asthose of the above-described first through fourth exemplary embodiments.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to thoseexemplary embodiments, and various modifications may be made to themwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

1. An information sharing support system comprising: a first informationprocessing device that is connected to a projector device for projectingan image on a projection area including an object therein, and to animage pick-up device for picking up an image of the projection areaincluding the object, with the projected image being projected on theprojection area; an inputting unit that inputs an event in a firstlayer, inputs a second annotation image that is a part of a firstannotation image associated with the event to a second layer, inputs athird annotation image that is the remaining part of the firstannotation image to a third layer, and inputs a document to a fourthlayer; a transmitting unit that transmits the second annotation image tothe projector device; a receiving unit that receives a picked-up imageof the projection area from the image pick-up device, the picked-upimage including the second annotation image projected on the projectionarea by the projector device; and a second information processing devicethat allocates the picked-up image received by the receiving unit to thesecond layer, and includes a display that displays the third annotationimage of the third layer and the document of the fourth layer in anoverlapping fashion.
 2. The information sharing support system accordingto claim 1, wherein: one of the first information processing device andthe second information processing device includes a converting unit thatconverts coordinate information as to the second annotation image intocoordinate information compatible with the projection area of theprojector device; and the transmitting unit transmits the coordinateinformation as to the second annotation image on the picked-up image tothe converting unit, and the converting unit transmits the convertedcoordinate information to the projector device.
 3. The informationsharing support system according to claim 1, wherein the secondinformation processing device includes an extracting unit that extractsfeature points of the document drawn on the fourth layer and thepicked-up image displayed on the second layer, a matching unit thatperforms matching between the extracted feature points, and a connectingunit that connects matching feature points to each other with anannotation image.
 4. The information sharing support system according toclaim 1, wherein the second information processing device includes: anacquiring unit that acquires attribute information as to the object, andattribute information as to the image pick-up device and the projectordevice; a memory that stores data to be displayed on the display,attribute information as to the second layer, attribute information asto the document, the attribute information as to the object, and theattribute information as to the image pick-up device and the projectordevice, the data and the sets of attribute information being associatedwith one another; and a retrieving unit that retrieves the data to bedisplayed on the display, based on at least one set of attributeinformation among the attribute information as to the second layer, theattribute information as to the document, the attribute information asto the object, and the attribute information as to the image pick-updevice and the projector device.
 5. The information sharing supportsystem according to claim 1, wherein the second information processingdevice includes a setting unit that puts the second layer into a visibleor invisible state on the display.
 6. The information sharing supportsystem according to claim 1, wherein: the second information processingdevice includes a size matching unit that matches an image pick-up areaof the image pick-up device and a display area of the display with eachother in size; the first information processing device includes adetecting unit that detects write information written on the object orthe projection area as the third annotation image, and an outputtingunit that outputs the write information detected as the third annotationimage by the detecting unit to the second information processing device;and the display displays the write information on the third layer, withthe image pick-up area of the image pick-up device and the display areaof the display being matched with each other in size by the sizematching unit.
 7. The information sharing support system according toclaim 6, wherein the detecting unit extracts the difference betweenconsecutive picked-up images picked up by the image pick-up device, andremoves the second annotation image contained in the consecutivepicked-up images from the extraction result, so as to detect the writeinformation written on the object or the projection area.
 8. Theinformation sharing support system according to claim 1, wherein: thesecond information processing device includes a size matching unit thatmatches an image pick-up area of the image pick-up device and a displayarea of the display with each other in size; and the transmitting unittransmits the third annotation image drawn on the third layer and thedocument drawn on the fourth layer to the projector device, with theimage pick-up area of the image pick-up device and the display area ofthe display being matched with each other in size by the size matchingunit.
 9. An information sharing support system comprising: a firstinformation processing device that is connected to a projector devicefor projecting an image on a projection area including an object, and toan image pick-up device for picking up an image of the projection areaincluding the object, with the projected image being projected on theprojection area; an inputting unit that inputs an operation of drawing afirst annotation image to a first layer, inputs a second annotationimage that is a part of the first annotation image to a second layer,inputs a third annotation image that is the remaining part of the firstannotation image to a third layer, and inputs a document to a fourthlayer; an attaching unit that selects a part of the document as apartial image, and attaches the partial image onto the second layer; anda second information processing device that includes a transmitting unitthat transmits the partial image attached onto the second layer andcoordinate information as to the partial image to the projector device,the projector device projecting the partial image on the projection areaincluding the object, based on the coordinate information as to thepartial image.
 10. The information sharing support system according toclaim 9, wherein the second information processing device includes: areceiving unit that receives a picked-up image of the projection areafrom the image pick-up device, with the partial image being projected onthe projection area by the projector device; and a processing unit thatallocates the picked-up image received by the receiving unit to thesecond layer, and causes the third annotation image of the third layerand the document of the fourth layer to be displayed on a display in anoverlapping fashion.
 11. The information sharing support systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the second information processing deviceincludes an extracting unit that extracts feature points of the partialimage and the picked-up image displayed on the second layer, a matchingunit that performs matching between the extracted feature points, and acorrecting unit that corrects the position of the partial image so thatmatching feature points overlap with each other.
 12. The informationsharing support system according to claim 9, wherein: the secondinformation processing device includes an extracting unit that extractsfeature points of the partial image and the picked-up image displayed onthe second layer, a matching unit that performs matching between theextracted feature points, and a connecting unit that connects matchingfeature points to each other with an annotation image: the transmittingunit transmits the partial image, the coordinate information as to thepartial image, and coordinate information as to the annotation image tothe projector device; and the projector device projects the partialimage and the annotation image on the projection area including theobject, based on the coordinate information as to the partial image andthe annotation image.
 13. An information processing device that isconnected to an external device via a communication network, saidexternal device being connected to a projector device for projecting animage on a projection area including an object, and to an image pick-updevice for picking up an image of the projection area including theobject projected thereon, the information processing device comprising:an inputting unit that inputs an operation of drawing a first annotationimage to a first layer, inputs a second annotation image that is a partof the first annotation image to a second layer, inputs a thirdannotation image that is the remaining part of the first annotationimage to a third layer, and inputs a document to a fourth layer; atransmitting unit that transmits the second annotation image to theprojector device; a receiving unit that receives the picked-up image ofthe projection area from the image pick-up device, the second annotationimage being projected by the projector device on the projection area;and a processing unit that allocates the picked-up image received by thereceiving unit to the second layer, and causes the third annotationimage of the third layer and the document of the fourth layer to bedisplayed on a display in an overlapping fashion.
 14. An informationprocessing device that is connected to an external device via acommunication network, said external device being connected to aprojector device for projecting an image on a projection area includingan object, and to an image pick-up device for picking up an image of theprojection area including the object projected thereon, the informationprocessing device comprising: an inputting unit that inputs an operationof drawing a first annotation image to a first layer, inputs a secondannotation image that is a part of the first annotation image to asecond layer, inputs a third annotation image that is the remaining partof the first annotation image to a third layer, and inputs a document toa fourth layer; an attaching unit that selects a part of the document asa partial image, and attaches the partial image onto the second layer;and a transmitting unit that transmits the partial image attached ontothe second layer and coordinate information as to the partial image tothe projector device, the projector device projecting the partial imageon the projection area including the object, based on the coordinateinformation as to the partial image.
 15. A computer readable mediumstoring a program to be executed by a computer that is connected to anexternal device via a communication network, said external device beingconnected to a projector device for projecting an image on a projectionarea including an object, and to an image pick-up device for picking upan image of the projection area including the object projected thereon,the program causing the computer to execute a process comprising:inputting an operation of drawing a first annotation image to a firstlayer, inputting a second annotation image that is a part of the firstannotation image to a second layer, inputting a third annotation imagethat is the remaining part of the first annotation image to a thirdlayer, and inputting a document to a fourth layer; transmitting thesecond annotation image to the projector device; receiving the picked-upimage of the projection area from the image pick-up device, the secondannotation image being projected by the projector device on theprojection area; and allocating the received, picked-up image to thesecond layer, and displaying the third annotation image of the thirdlayer and the document of the fourth layer in an overlapping fashion.16. A computer readable medium storing a program to be executed by acomputer that is connected to an external device via a communicationnetwork, said external device being connected to a projector device forprojecting an image on a projection area including an object, and to animage pick-up device for picking up an image of the projection areaincluding the object projected thereon, the program causing the computerto execute a process comprising: inputting an operation of drawing afirst annotation image to a first layer, inputting a second annotationimage that is a part of the first annotation image to a second layer,inputting a third annotation image that is the remaining part of thefirst annotation image to a third layer, and inputting a document to afourth layer; selecting a part of the document as a partial image, andattaching the partial image onto the second layer; and transmitting thepartial image attached onto the second layer and coordinate informationas to the partial image to the projector device, the projector deviceprojecting the partial image on the projection area including theobject, based on the coordinate information as to the partial image. 17.A method of controlling a computer that is connected to an externaldevice via a communication network, said external device being connectedto a projector device for projecting an image on a projection areaincluding an object, and to an image pick-up device for picking up animage of the projection area including the object projected thereon, themethod comprising: inputting an operation of drawing a first annotationimage to a first layer, inputting a second annotation image that is apart of the first annotation image to a second layer, inputting a thirdannotation image that is the remaining part of the first annotationimage to a third layer, and inputting a document to a fourth layer;transmitting the second annotation image to a projector device;receiving the picked-up image of the projection area from the imagepick-up device, the second annotation image being projected by theprojector device on the projection area; and allocating the received,picked-up image to the second layer, and displaying the third annotationimage of the third layer and the document of the fourth layer in anoverlapping fashion.
 18. A method of controlling a computer that isconnected to an external device via a communication network, saidexternal device being connected to a projector device for projecting animage on a projection area including an object, and to an image pick-updevice for picking up an image of the projection area including theobject thereon, the method comprising: inputting an operation of drawinga first annotation image to a first layer, inputting a second annotationimage that is a part of the first annotation image to a second layer,inputting a third annotation image that is the remaining part of thefirst annotation image to a third layer, and inputting a document to afourth layer; selecting a part of the document as a partial image, andattaching the partial image onto the second layer; and transmitting thepartial image attached onto the second layer and coordinate informationas to the partial image to the projector device, the projector deviceprojecting the partial image on the projection area including theobject, based on the coordinate information as to the partial image.